El Bailadero (from Roque de las Bodegas) – Cat 2 / 6km / 10%

There is no point sugarcoating it – this is a brutal climb. The road rises from sea level to around 600m in 6km and that means only one thing. Pain! And lots of it!

The Roque de las Bodegas beach

The climb starts from Roque de las Bodegas direction Taganana and continues south all the way up the mountain and El Bailadero. The tunnel at the top marks the end of the climb and after passing through it you can quickly join the main TF-12 road.

Getting into any sort of a climbing rhythm seems virtually impossible and survival to the top is the name of the game. Many sections seem to be 20% or more! That hurts even if your surname is Froom or Contador.